Isco demands improvements from Spain after draw with Morocco

Isco has demanded his Spain side improve after dramatically avoiding a shock defeat to Morocco in their final group stage game at the World Cup.

The Real Madrid playmaker scored Spain’s first equaliser as the 2010 champions twice came from behind in a 2-2 draw, but he was more concerned about how easily he and his teammates have been giving goals away at the tournament.

Spain’s chaotic tie against Morocco came after a 3-3 draw with Portugal in their opener, and their defensive frailties have been laid bare in those two matches – a worry considering they were thought to be one of the favourites to lift the trophy.

“Again we started a bit doubtful, we couldn’t get going,” Isco said.

“From now on games are life or death. We can’t keep giving goals away, we have to focus.

“We are lacking what we know best, controlling games and having the ball.

“We have to put the batteries in, any rival team would send us home.”

Morocco, who had already been eliminated from the tournament and had nothing to play for against Spain, were accused of going in too hard in what was a fiercely contested clash, but Isco brushed aside those complaints.

“That’s football, they did their job and were professional,” he said.”They tackled hard like anyone, we can’t complain.”

Spain topped their group thanks to their dramatic late equaliser on Monday, setting up a tie against hosts Russia in the last 16 on Sunday.

Russia were the lowest-ranked team going into the tournament, but have been galvanised by the home support, and Isco says Spain will not be taking them lightly.

“We know it will be hard against the hosts, who are having a fantastic tournament,” he added.

Gylfi Sigurdsson v Andrej Kramaric and other key battles set to decide Iceland and Croatia clash

Iceland and Croatia face off at the World Cup on Tuesday with the former’s hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages hanging by a thread.

A win may not be enough for them, whereas Croatia’s players can approach the game in a relaxed manner having already qualified.

Here are the key players who could tilt the tie.

Gylfi Sigurdsson v Andrej Kramaric

Sigurdsson will carry all of Iceland’s hopes on his shoulders, and even if they are the least populous country at the World Cup, that’s a heavy burden, especially as he hasn’t been at his sparkling best so far. Iceland have always emphasised the importance of the collective, but they do have a star player. He needs to deliver a win on Tuesday.

Andrej Kramaric was dropped from the starting XI for Croatia’s win over Argentina, but he’ll likely earn a recall on Tuesday with manager Zlatko Dalic expected to rest some of his star players. His combined five goals and assists during qualifying were joint-top for Croatia. The former Leicester City man is a reliable scorer but also a handy creator of goals, much like Sigurdsson.

Aron Gunnarsson v Mateo Kovacic

Iceland’s inspirational captain will want to deliver a trademark all-action performance to lead his side into the knockout stages on Tuesday. At his best Gunnarsson can be everywhere on the pitch, delivering telling crosses, driving forward from the centre, and helping his defence whenever needed. He was strangely quiet against Nigeria, and he’ll want to make amends.

Mateo Kovacic has endured a frustrating World Cup, much like his club season with Real Madrid. When Dalic opted for only two central midfielders against Nigeria, it was obvious Ivan Rakitic and Luka Modric would get the nod, but seeing Marcelo Brozovic picked ahead of him as a third midfielder against Argentina must have been disheartening. With Croatia likely to rotate, this will be Kovacic’s chance to shine.

Ragnar Sigurdsson v Dejan Lovren

Ragnar Sigurdsson is a typical warrior-like Icelandic defender, and against Nigeria he showed how he’s earned that tag as he played on after suffering a serious-looking blow to the head. He’s a doubt for this crucial clash, but Iceland will hope he’s fit to play. At his best he’s the sort of vocal, commanding leader every defence needs.

Dejan Lovren’s form has improved leaps and bounds since the turn of the year, and although at club level that was put down to the arrival of Dutchman Virgil Van Dijk at Liverpool, he’s replicated that form for Croatia over the last two games. The assured performance he put up against Lionel Messi and Argentina was one the best displays of his career.

Gareth Southgate does not want to let England’s momentum slip against Belgium

Gareth Southgate believes it would be “dangerous territory” for England to plot a favourable World Cup path, especially having seen their last major tournament end in humiliation against unfancied Iceland.

The Three Lions sealed progress to the last 16 with a match to spare after following up their last-gasp 2-1 win against Tunisia by annihilating Panama 6-1 in Nizhny Novgorod.

Belgium also qualified as a result of England’s win on Sunday, leaving Group G finely poised ahead of the pair’s meeting in Kaliningrad on Thursday.

Level on points, goal difference and goals scored, fair play may end up deciding who finishes top – a position Belgium are said to be keen to avoid.

The runners-up could well find a simpler route to the latter stages of the World Cup – but Southgate is wary of adopting that mentality with the Euro 2016 embarrassment against Iceland fresh in his mind.

“For our country, that would be a very difficult mindset to have,” the England boss said.

“We want to win every game of football we go into. I don’t know how we would go into a game not wanting to win and not wanting to play well.

“So, I think that’s dangerous territory…if we start trying to plot and predict where we might end up.

“We had a really favourable draw, we all thought, in the last tournament and it didn’t work out that way.

“I think we just have to keep playing as well as we can, keep preparing the team the right way, keep the momentum and I have to keep the squad involved. That’s the one thing I think is really important.”

Roy Hodgson failed to strike the balance between momentum and rotation two years ago in France, where his much-changed side stuttered to a goalless
draw against Slovakia and ended their group in second.

Southgate would love to head into the knockout phase with a 100 per cent record but keeping the squad happy and energy levels up will also be key against Belgium.

He continued: “We have to consider everything.

“I felt it was important for (Jamie) Vardy, (Fabian) Delph and (Danny) Rose, who have trained so well and been such an important part of the group
as more senior players.

“There were four or five others I’d have liked to get on the pitch for that same reason. Balancing that with a couple of the younger ones was a difficult decision.

“I’ve got to think through all of those things, competition for places, players who need match minutes and keeping the unity of the squad.”

Southgate will need to decide whether Dele Alli is worth risking after missing the Panama win with a slight thigh strain and how best to deal with
his star players.

Picking England captain Harry Kane is one of the decision Southgate must make after his hat-trick on Sunday took him to five goals and top of the Golden Boot rankings.

“Obviously it will be very important for Harry, so I always have to balance what’s right for the squad as well,” Southgate said.

“He’s sitting really proudly at the top. He’s gone ahead of some major, major names in English football history in terms of World Cup goals.

“That should make him incredibly proud, but he also knows the team is the most important thing and we have to make decisions that are right for
the team.”